The Lion King: A Man among Lions

Chapter 3: A Lions Trust

Ben had to sit down. He buried his head in his arms and groaned. "This cannot be happening. Will somebody please wake me up from this nightmare!"

THWACK!

"OW!" Ben jerked his head up and rubbed the spot where his skull had just been struck. He looked to Rafiki, who was calm as ever. "Did you just hit me with your staff!?"

"Is there another primate in this tree with a staff? No! But that is beside the point. The point is this is no nightmare. You should be honored Ben. You have the chance to change the future. You can save the Tree of Life!"

Ben, still rubbing the sore spot on his head asked: "But how can I change the future? I'm just one person."

"You have already made changes just by being here. If you hadn't shown up I would currently be tending to Sarafina and the other pregnant lionesses. Instead I am here with you. This is a change that occurred without you even trying to accomplish anything. It may or may not have any significance, but imagine the things you can do if you focus on making an impact in the world that will change it for the better."

"You actually think I can change the future? That I can stop these two lions and save the Tree of Life?"

"Did my staff knock out your memory? You are a mlezi! You are meant to be a guardian to the Tree of Life and to life itself."

"Just because I'm a mlezi doesn't mean I won't fail. Umren was a mlezi and he failed. He was the mlezi when the Tree burned down!"

Rafiki's eyes widened. "That name. You know of Umren?"

Ben shrugged. "Yeah, I mean my Grandpa told me the history of the mlezi. Umren was I guess at one point hidden away and was waiting for some chosen lion prince to come and be King there."

"Yes, there is a prophecy that has been handed down to the royal mjuzi for generations to watch for this chosen prince, but the prophecy does not say from which kingdom he will come from."

"My Grandpa seemed to think he was supposed to come from…"

"Ah-ah-ah!" Rafiki shouted and put a finger to Ben's lips to silence him. It worked, more out of surprise than anything. "There are apparently things you know about the future that may still be relevant, and knowing the future can be a dangerous thing. The things you know of that are still yet to happen must be kept to yourself. Let those events you know about help guide you in making changes that will benefit the future. But you must not reveal these things to anyone else, even myself."

"But I told you about the Tree catching fire and the two lions who caused its destruction."

"That future is now irrelevant. You being here is proof of that."

"That doesn't mean it couldn't still happen."

"Perhaps, but definitely not in the same way. The spirits sent you here to change that future and so it does not matter that you told me about something that is meant to change."

"Hold on. The spirits didn't send me here. I sent me here, even though I didn't know what I was doing."

Rafiki shook his finger. "No, you were sent here by spirit energy. That energy would not have worked if the spirits didn't want you here."

Ben shook his head and groaned. "This sprit stuff makes my head hurt."

Rafiki chuckled. "You are a mlezi, best get used to it."

"Maybe I could if I had someone to teach me but it's not like I can go to the Tree of Life and wake up Umren and be like 'teach me your ways."

"No, but you do have me. The first royal mjuzi was a great friend of Umrens and he learned much about the mlezi. That knowledge has been passed down throughout the years. Now I will pass that knowledge to you on both the physical and spiritual level."

"You will!?"

Rafiki nodded with a smile.

"So what do we do first?"

"First we introduce you to the King. I can't properly teach you if you are not first welcomed into the kingdom."

"Oh, right. What was his name again? Mafusu?"

"Mufasa! And you best get that right. It's not good to insult the King if you are wanting to stay here. Now come, we must be going." With that Rafiki bounded past Ben to grab hold of a vine and swung himself down out of the tree.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Here we go again." He walked to the edge of the branches and looked down. Too far to jump and he didn't want to mess up his bandaged hand on the vine. Then he remembered a rock climbing course he had been to a couple times with his family. On one occasion he had taken an advanced course where they instructed him how to self-belay and repel. This was definitely not the same. No harness, no clips, no actual rope, but he had to make do. Taking hold of the vine in his good hand he took up some slack to create a large loop. He then turned and sat into the loop, holding firmly to the vine and leaned back over the edge of the tree. Slowly, he let out slack and the vine slid through his hand and around his bottom as he walked himself down the trunk of the tree. When he reached the bottom his good hand burned from the friction of the vine, but it wasn't bleeding which was good.

"Impressive!" Rafiki complimented. "I can't say I've ever seen that method of climbing down from tree's before."

"And how did you expect me to get down from there with essentially only one hand?"

"I expected you to use your head." Rafiki said, gently taping Ben on the head with his staff to make a point. "I will be able to teach you many things but somethings you will have to figure out for yourself. Well done."

"I see your teaching is going to be Mr. Miyagi style."

Rafiki looked puzzled.

"Nevermind. So where do we find the King?"

"He will be just finishing his rounds and should be back at pride rock. We will meet him there."

Rafiki and Ben began walking back the way they had come. Along the way he noticed animals were casting worried looks at him and wouldn't make eye contact when he glanced their way, or they would simply run off. It was making him feel uneasy. Would the King welcome him into his kingdom if his subjects were all afraid of him? "Does the bond work on other animals as well, or is it just lions?" He asked Rafiki.

Rafiki shrugged. "It is the 'lions bond' I would assume it means only bonded with lions."

"But you noticed it."

"I knew what I was looking for but I did not feel an impulse to trust you when I saw it, I just recognized it. The bond though is not a common thing, in fact I myself have only heard rumors of its existence since the banishment of humans from the Tree of Life. Many don't even know of the bond at all, even lions. You do have a major advantage over any other human but you must be careful in assuming that any lion you come into contact with will instantly trust you. The bond will give a lion the feeling they can trust you, but ultimately they must decide to give you that trust. And even if they do it is up to you to make sure that trust isn't broken."

Ben nodded silently.

"Do not worry. Mufasa can have a bit of a temper, but he is a fair king and when he sees the bond I do believe he will give you his trust. And once you have the trust of him and his pride the rest of the animals will come to trust you as well."

"But what am I going to say to him? 'Hi, I'm Ben. I just showed up from the future and am supposed to save the Tree of Life. Can I stay in your kingdom and get lessons from your monkey?"

"Royal Mjuzi!" Rafiki corrected. "And unlike you I already have the King's trust. I will handle the explanation of why you are here. You just need to ask to stay."

They had come into view of Pride Rock and at the point of the slab that made up the great platform Ben could see a large male lion looking out over the land. His fur was a bright golden color with a thick red mane that wrapped around his head and down his broad chest. Before they reached the base the lion spotted them. He did not look pleased. The lion turned and bounded down the side of the rock to come and meet them at the bottom.

"You have some explaining to do Rafiki." The large lion's voice boomed as he approached, not giving Ben any notice.

Rafiki did a short bow. "Mufasa, I apologize for not coming to you right away, but the boy had an injury that needed to be tended to."

"So you thought you would offer aid and welcome in an enemy of our kingdom without my knowledge!" Mufasa lectured.

Before Rafiki could reply Ben held out his bandaged hand. "Ra…Rafiki thought it might be infected so…"

Mufasa growled and bared his teeth but did not look at Ben. "Do not speak human! I know of your kind, nothing but a bunch of treacherous monsters."

Ben's blood began to boil.

Rafiki held up a finger. "Now Mufasa, let me explain. He was sent by the spirits to…"

"I don't care why he's here!" Mufasa roared. "Sarafina and Yakuti told me of how they met him and felt they could trust him just by seeing something in his eyes. I don't know how he can communicate with us or why two of my pride would trust him so readily but I will not be fooled into letting a poacher into my kingdom."

"What did you just call me?" Ben seethed.

Still avoiding eye contact Mufasa growled again, much louder this time. "How dare you…"

"No, how dare you!" Ben yelled, cutting off Mufasa. Rafiki slapped a hand across his face in frustration but Ben continued. "You have no idea who I am or what I've been through to get here. I've lost my home, my family, and you want to know how they died. By poachers! And you want to know why I'm here? Because two of your kind will be responsible for destroying the Tree of Life if I don't stop them. So look me in the eye and tell me I'm the monster. Look me in the eye right now and tell me I'm a poacher!"

Mufasa roared directly at Ben, and despite his defiant outburst he was caught off guard and stumbled backwards. Before he could recover the big lion was standing over him and their eyes finally met. Like before with Yakuti Ben could see a change in the lion's gaze. At first his look was hard and angry, and then it softened. Mufasa looked away and sighed. "Sarafina and Yakuti were right." He stepped aside and let Ben get to his feet.

Rafiki came up beside him. "That was both brave and completely stupid."

"No Rafiki." Mufasa interjected and looked back at the boy. "What is your name?"

"My name is Ben."

"I am Mufasa, king of the Pridelands. Your insolence normally would not be tolerated, but you were right to call me out. I should not have judged you first. You must understand though, as King I must think first of my subjects and your kind has given us no reason to trust you in the past. But you are indeed different. I don't know how, but one look into your eyes tells me you are someone who respects the circle of life and is strongly devoted to my kind. I have never experienced this with anyone before."

"It is the bond of the lions, Sire." Rafiki explained.

Mufasa, stunned, looked to his friend and then back to Ben. "Can it be?"

Rafiki went on. "And not only that. He is also a mlezi. That's why he can understand us."

Bewildered Mufasa said under his breath; "The legends are alive." And then, regarding Ben he asked; "Why are you here, and how?" The mlezi were the old guardians to the Tree of Life but they disappeared shortly after the human's banishment, and you said something about my kind destroying the Tree?"

Ben stammered. "Yes, well, it's all a bit confusing. You see…uh."

Rafiki held up a hand to silence him. "What you need to know, Sire, is that the spirits have sent Ben here to correct a flawed future. Any further explanation will complicate matters. You must trust me Mufasa, he is not here because he wants to be but because he needs to be. Though, he must first learn what it means to be a mlezi first."

"You need to be taught to be a mlezi?" Mufasa asked Ben.

Ben shrugged. "I just became one yesterday."

Mufasa turned to Rafiki. "And you think you can teach him?"

"I believe I can. With my knowledge and help from the spirits themselves I think Ben will become a mlezi in truth."

Mufasa nodded. "Then it will be done. Ben, you will be a welcomed member of the Pridelands so you may be instructed formerly by my royal mjuzi. I will make the announcement this afternoon. In the mean time you must meet my pride."

Ben nodded eagerly. "Sounds good to me!"

Mufasa gestured to follow him and Ben and Rafiki followed the king up to the rock ledge that connected to a large cave opening.

"Wait here." Mufasa told them. He walked up to the top of the platform and let out a powerful roar. It echoed off the stone wall behind them and reverberated across the land.

"What's he doing?" Ben asked Rafiki.

"He is calling the pride."

Just then, multiple lionesses emerged from the cave and gathered out onto the platform, each taking cautious glances at Ben as they passed by. Among the group though were Sarafina and Yakuti, who each gave a slight smile as they passed. They all gathered and sat along the edge of the platform rock and created a line with Mufasa at the head, six lions all together. Ben then noticed that each of the lioness's were pregnant. All except Yakuti.

"The lion guard and hunting party will be here shortly." Mufasa said. "But for now I would like you to meet those who are here. This is my mate and Queen, Sarabi." Mufasa gave an admiring look to the tan colored lioness that was beside him. She returned the look and then turned her head and fixed her gaze upon Ben. Never breaking eye contact she moved to stand directly in front of him. Unlike other times, there was no change in the eyes of this lion. She just stared intently at him. After what seemed like hours had gone by she spoke. "There are stories we hear as cubs about humans. Most are of the terrible things they do so that from a young age we will know to be warry of your people. Though I remember one story my mother once told me about the paradise in the kingdom of the Tree of Life in the days when the Earth was still young. Where creatures of all kinds, including humans, flourished and lived in harmony during a time when everyone respected the circle of life. The world is no longer this way but I can see that paradise, that way of living, shining through in your eyes. You have a pure an honest spirit, be sure to keep it that way."

Ben had no words and simply gave the Queen a nod. She smiled and returned to stand next to her King. Going down the line he met Tulia, Nyoro, and Mila who each approached to see what all the lions were seeing in him. The bond that would show that they could indeed trust this boy, this human who seemed to have just shown up from nowhere. Finally Sarafina and Yakuti approached.

"Looks like Rafiki fixed up your hand huh?" Yakuti asked casually.

"Yeah, are you feeling any better?" Sarafina added.

"Yeah, he did a pretty good job. And I do feel…" But Ben pause as a shadow quickly fell over the group. He turned to see a large bank of clouds moving quickly across the otherwise clear blue sky. These clouds were moving so rapidly that it actually looked like they were charging straight for them. Just then Mufasa shouted "Get down!" as he pounced to shove Ben to the ground. As soon as he hit the stone a shockwave of air and sound erupted above him where he had just been standing. It was like a concentrated blast of thunder and he had to cover his ears. As he looked up at the cloud he saw in astonishment that they had formed into the shape of lions. Perplex he looked over to where Mufasa was. The King had rolled out of the way as to not land atop Ben when he had gotten him to the ground. He now stood and shouted. "Taka enough! We are in no danger!"

Ben stood back up to see who Mufasa was talking to. Just below pride rock was a group of five Male lions. The lion at the front of the group had orange-brown fur with green eyes and a jet black mane. This lion answered back; "Not in danger? Mufasa, there is a human standing right next to you!"

"He is not a threat. Come and see for yourself."

The group made their way up to the platform and the one with green eyes stopped in front of Mufasa. "Not a threat is he. Well then what do you intend to do with him. He would make a tasty appetizer before our dinner."

"I intend to make him a member of the Pridelands."

"You can't be serious! I won't allow it. As leader of the Lion Guard I won't have a human…"

But Mufasa cut him off. "As King I won't have the leader of the Lion Guard overruling my authority! Is that clear!" He roared.

The other lion visibly shrank back. Begrudgingly he said; "Very well. But what has possessed you to believe a human can be trusted?"

"As I said before, see for yourself." Mufasa stepped aside to allow a clear view between Ben and Taka.

Ben felt a nudge and looked to see Yakuti. "Go on, Taka's roar is worse than his bite, literally.

He didn't really know what to make of that comment but he made his way up to the green eyed lion. Their eyes met and Ben could see not only apprehension, but also fear. This time though there wasn't a sudden change in Taka's gaze as there had been with the other lions. The fear and apprehension had faded but was not entirely gone. This lion he could tell was not going to give him his trust just at a glance. Ben decided to break the silence and introduced himself. "My name is Ben."

"I'm Taka. So you can communicate with us then? I guess you are different than an ordinary human but I remember the stories of the past. You possess the bond of the lions, I can see it. But it was the humans that broke that bond and in my book it will be by your actions you gain my trust, if ever. My brother may be welcoming you with open arms but I promise you I will not hesitate to use my roar again if I even suspect you are bringing harm to this kingdom."

Ben looked between Mufasa and Taka. "You two are brothers?"

Taka rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately."

Mufasa let out an irritated growl.

"And you said you would use your roar? Are you talking about that thunder storm? Did you cause that?" Ben asked.

"Oh, it wasn't thunder." Taka said with a grin. He walked past Ben to the edge of the rock. Just then the clouds returned and Taka let out a roar so loud and concentrated that the nearest tree exploded into splinters. Up above Ben witnessed the clouds had formed into the heads of lion like before and were roaring with Taka. As soon as Taka cease his roar the clouds disappeared, leaving the sky clear and blue once again. He turned back to face Ben once again. "That is the roar of the elders and it is what you have to look forward to if you ever decide to betray us." With that Taka bounded down from pride rock and out of sight.

Authors Note:

So Ben gets to meet some more of the main TLK characters as well as a few others and Taka, AKA Scar (he doesn't have his scar yet) isn't too fond of him. He hasn't been introduced to Scars Lion Guard yet. That will be next chapter and I'm open to OC suggestions. The male lions of the guard will be paired with the Lioness's I introduced in this chapter (Sarafina, Nyoro, Mila, and Yakuti) I'm thinking I might be pairing Tulia with Taka and you will find out why in following chapters. So DM me if you have ideas on who will be the strongest, bravest, fastest, and keenest of sight. Again your feedback and comments are always an encouragement and please hit that follow or favorite button if you like the content. Until next time, thanks for reading!